Key of Time
by AnimatorWriter
Summary: My name is Alex. Last name? I don't have one anymore. Nickname? I have several, but I'd rather not repeat them, except for one; TimeKey. My mentor gave it to me when I was little. How little? Well, if I tell you that, I'll just tell you my whole story . . . OC centric story. Don't like, don't read. Rating may change.


**A/N: This is and OC centric story. Don't like, don't read. Now let me stress that the OC in question is a little sister of Danny's, so that is probably an automatic turn off. Okay then. If you do read the story, I do appreciate constructive criticism, but if I receive to many hateful comments, I WILL take this story down. So don't ruin it for people who might like the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any canon characters, settings, or possible future quotes. I do own non-canon characters, settings, and plots. Thank you.**

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><p>Prologue<p>

It's been years since I saw my family. Ten, to be exact. Well, correction, I saw my brother, but he didn't know who I was, and it wasn't under pleasant circumstances, so that doesn't count. Besides, if he didn't know it was me, what hope is there that my sister would know who I was?

Hope. Thinking on that, it's a harsh word. It means to be patient, wait at an agonizingly slow pace for something you want to happen, even when the likely-hood is almost zero. I try to resist it, but hope is one of the last things I have anymore. I didn't just die; I was stripped of my rights as a creature in the plane of existence. I was no longer human, and was then by default a threat to anything human. I learned all that the hard way. The way others like me fear, will hide in a corner to avoid, and would scream in terror at the bare thought of it. The fact I survived is what makes others both fear and respect me.

Who am I? My name is Alex. Why no last name? I lost that right ten years ago, the day I lost my right to be among humans; the day I lost my right to go where I please; the day I lost my right to help others, no matter our stark differences; the day I lost my right to live.

What could I possibly be talking about? I should have the same rights as anyone else. I may have a strange appearance; black hair with a blue patch, one eye blue, the other bright green, deathly pale skin, but despite this, I still look perfectly human. Well, in order for you to understand, I'm going to have to start from the very beginning; the anniversary to the day I was born, and, coincidentally, the day I died.

Chapter 1

It was only my fifth birthday, one that most young children barely remember, but for me, it's all clearer than glass. It was early in the morning when my mother came into my room to wake me. She gently shook my shoulder and cooed my name softly. I was stubborn, however, and tried the best I could to pretend I was asleep.

"Come on Alex, time to wake up," my mom said kindly. "You don't want to sleep through your birthday, do you?"

At those simple words, I surged upwards, riding myself of the covers, and nearly knocking down my mother in the process.

"Calm down, sweetie" she said with a little more volume. "You need to get into some regular clothes first."

I nodded with excitement, and jumped from the soft surface below me to the cold, wood floor. I scampered to my dresser, and pulled out a pair of orange leggings and a white sun dress. My mom tried to stop me so she could find me something more eye-appealing, but I had run out my door and slid down the stair rail before she had a chance. When I reached the bottom, I ran as fast as my small legs could carry me to the kitchen, where a shot range through the house and a strange, sticky green substance covered my face and hair.

"Sorry, Lexi," my big brother, Danny, said quietly. He was holding one of my parents inventions; a gun that fired an anti-ectoplasmic substance to use when hunting for ghosts.

"It's okay, Danny," I said calmly. My dad, a large man clad in orange HAZMAT, came over to me with a damp towel and worked to get the strange chemical off my face and out of my hair. "Thank you, Daddy."

"No problem, sweetie," he said in his powerful, jolly tone as my mom came finally arrived from upstairs. "Hey Maddie, should we give out presents now, or after breakfast?"

"Why don't we let Lexi open our presents, and you kids can go play with Tucker while we finish here," my mom suggested kindly. I jumped at the chance of both enjoying my parents gift and see my brothers close friend. While Tucker was older than me by roughly two years and was closer to Danny, he were still fun to talk to and was nice to me and my older sister Jazz.

"Okay!" I cried excitedly.

"Well then," my mom said before pulling out a small box, "Happy Birthday, Lexi."

I carefully unwrapped the small package, and opened the tiny box. Inside, there was a simple necklace of a black string and a silver key used to wind clocks. Though my parents and siblings didn't notice, I thought I could here an ominous voice coming from the key saying "all is as it should be".

"This necklace is something that has been passed down in our family for many years now," my mom said. "Though what's odd is that we have never figured out what clock it's supposed to go to."

I nodded and put the necklace on and almost felt an ominous presence, though at the same time it was comforting. I turned to my mom and gave a quiet thank you before my dad pulled my chin so I was facing him directly.

"You still have some of that gunk stuck in your hair, Lexi," he said loudly.

"I'll wash it out when I get home," I said, knowing it was only a slight stain on my left side.

"Alright, but I'll be helping you," my mom said sternly. "It's harmless, but we don't want it to stain to deep."

I nodded, gave a quick good-bye before grabbing my older siblings arms in a vice grip and racing out the door to find Tucker, each of us grabbing our respective jackets. We raced down several streets, nearly running over a few older folks, and practically gave a driver a heart attack when we bolted across the street unexpectedly. My sister gave me a distraught expression, but I merely replied with a ridiculous grin of excitement. We continued our dash, and I smiled even more largely as we approached the park, where we saw my older brother's close friend. His dark green jacket zipped closed to fight against the chilling air of November. He spotted us and jumped of the bench before tackling Danny in a hug.

"Hey Danny," he said happily. "Hey Jazz, hey Lexi."

"Hi Tucker," the three of us said together, before he burst out laughing.

"You three really are siblings after all," he said with a wide grin.

He had a point. Between me, Jazz, and Danny, there was barely any consistency in appearance. Jazz had bright red hair and turquoise eyes, Danny had black hair and blue eyes, and I had ash blond hair and violet eyes. It was a strange inconsistency, but a few people would look at black and white pictures of us and say we looked almost like triplets.

"So," Tucker drawled, bringing me out of my musings, "what are we gonna do?"

"Maybe we should go visit that one new kid from school," Danny said shyly, making Tucker smile in a smug manner.

"You like her don't you," he said coolly, as me and Jazz began to snicker at Danny's stammering and rapidly reddening face.

"Th-that's not true!" he cried, "I just thought she might like some new friends."

"Sounds like fun to me," Jazz said as I nodded rapidly.

"Okay," Tucker said, "But be prepared, she looks like she's afraid of nothing," he said, making Danny start to fidget. I slung my arm around his shoulder and ruffled his hair playfully.

"Don't worry, Danny," I said reassuringly, "I bet she's nice."

He smiled and our group began heading in the direction Danny and Tucker thought this new girl lived. I couldn't help but wonder how she was going to integrate with Danny and Tucker. The two had been nearly inseparable for years, seeing as Tucker's parents were pretty close with my own. Either way, at least now I could meet another girl closer to my age than my big sister, and she was about four years older than me.

"Is that her right there?" Tucker asked. I saw a girl, about the same age as Danny, with raven black hair and eyes even more purple than my own. She had a grumpy expression, and looked exceptionally cold without a jacket. Her hair also whipped around her face in the wind. Danny ran up to her and ushered her over to the cover we had found under a bistro.

"Thanks," she said as her teeth chattered. "My mom and I got in a fight, and I ran out of my home without my jacket."

"You can use mine," I blurted out. I was tall for my age, and Danny was to tall for his coat to fit right, same with Jazz and Tucker, so I quickly removed the lavender jacket and quickly put it around her shoulders.

"But it's cold," the girl said in concern, " won't you be cold?"

"I like the cold," I said proudly, "I'll be just fine. Besides, we can go back to your house and get your coat, then you can give me back mine."

"Alright," she said. "My name's Samantha."

"I'm Daniel," my brother said politely. "But everyone calls me Danny."

"My name's Jasmine, but you can call me Jazz," my sister said kindly.

"Name's Tucker," introduced our friend. "Or Tuck, if you like."

"I'm Alexandria," I said, "but you can call me Lexi."

"Do all of you have nicknames?" she asked. We all nodded our heads. "I wish I had one." She looked at the ground with a sad expression.

"What about Sam?" Danny suggested. She looked up at my brother before smiling and nodding. "Great! We should probably still go get your jacket from your house."

_'You won't return to them, Alexandria.'_ I heard a voice whisper in my ear. I turned to see who it was as the others started to follow Sam, but I saw no one around. I quietly followed my siblings and friends, not taking to much notice to the warmth of my necklace against my chest or the ticking of a clock I couldn't see. Before long, we passed an alleyway, but I saw out of the corner of my eye there was a eerie glow coming from the far end. I called to the others before I ran inside to get a closer look. It was a strange, green glowing spiral of energy, much like one I'd seen in many of my parents designs for something they said they hoped to build, but said it would be a long time before it was finished. I made sure my steps were as close to silent as possible, and I approached the strange thing. I stepped around it to get a better look, and much to my surprise, when I looked from behind, it wasn't there, or at least it was invisible. I carefully reached my hand forward to touch it before my older sister grabbed my hand and pulled it away violently.

"What was that for!?" I exclaimed.

"We don't know what the thing is," she said sensibly. "We should call mom and dad before we try to touch it."

I was more frustrated at my sisters behavior, as my curiosity consumed my senses. And I also heard something almost chiding in my ear; _'I will see you soon, my apprentice, but you must take the beginning steps first.' _It was a calming voice, and it felt like it urged me to touch the portal, to see where it lead to. I reached with my other hand to the portal with enough force to make Jazz stumble, and the momentum was all I needed for a single touch to reach the portal.

There was a shock of electricity that made me cry out. My siblings and friends tried their best to find out what was wrong, but I felt a strange tugging from my core into the portal. I felt as the pain of the electricity began to fade, and I felt the necklace warm against my now terrifyingly cold chest. I had my hand through the portal, and I turned to my siblings to give them a smile at how I was okay, but what I saw made me sick to my stomach.

Jazz was clutching me, or at least, my body. Danny had run over to a pay phone and began to rapidly dial for our house while Sam did the same no doubt for her house on a weird little phone in her hands. Tucker was trying his best to get Jazz to calm her hysterics, and all I could do was stare. I pulled my hand rapidly from the portal and turned to a puddle. Before backing away in shock. My hair was no longer it's bright blond color, and my eyes were no longer periwinkle. Each strand of hair on my head had become black as a ravens feathers, with the exception of where the ectoplasm stain was, as that turned dark blue and looked permanent. My eyes glowed an icy blue. Even my skin had become a deathly pale color, practically grey. I stared at my siblings in shock, and as I tried to approach my sister and touch her shoulder to display my presence, my hand passed through her shoulder as if it wasn't there. My sister shivered at my touch, and I backed away in fear. When I tried to lean against the wall, I nearly fell through the wall. I realized I wasn't supposed to be here, that I was no longer human, that I was no longer alive. I turned toward the green portal, its light seeming far more welcoming than the presence of my own family, and I slipped in silently inside as the strange, swirling substance just as it closed.

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><p><strong>AN: I repeat from the above, I appreciate CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, but hate will cause me to remove the story. Thank you for your time.**


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